CD Review: Daft Punk

Tron: Legacy (Walt Disney)

Sci-fi fans are an excitable lot. Certain things send geekboys into a frenzy — like, say, the upcoming sequel to 1982's guy-stuck-in-a-computer movie Tron. And who better to handle the soundtrack than French robo-duo Daft Punk? Since Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are huge fans of the original film, Tron: Legacy is as much a tribute to fandom as it is to digital prog-futurism, with nods to John Cage, Gary Numan, and Stanley Kubrick along the way. The tracks are menacing, strident, and positively epic — a far cry from the Journey songs found in the original flick — with clashing synths in a defrag of psycho-disco and timeless orchestral maneuvering. The brightest cuts ("Derezzed," "The Grid") are slick, super-booming, and destined for greatness. And "Tron: Legacy Theme" may be the biggest Numan-style instrumental ever recorded. It rarely gets better than this for nerds. Downside: Playing the album in your car won't turn it into a lightcycle. Upside: no Steve Perry. —Peter Chakerian